The Truth: Firestar's Family
by ChicpeaNightingale
Summary: The truth behind Firestar's history, along with Scourge's, and Cloudtail's. What the Erin's wouldn't tell you.
1. Chapter 1: Jake

**The Truth**

**Find out the truth about Firestar's family**

The white picket fence sat diving the forest from the Twoleg place. Above, Silverpelt twinkled with the fallen warriors of the Clans. If you listened closely, their voices seemed to whisper secrets. As the wind picked up, and the night began to grow colder, two bright green eyes blinked through the underbrush. Out from the bushes appeared a lithe ginger tom. He held a torn collar in his jaws, and dropped it onto the muddy ground just in front of him, between the fence and his paws. "This is not my life…" He sighed to no one in particular. He lifted his chin to the moon and tears began to trickle down his orange cheeks. The pain of leaving his long-time twoleg nest was harsh, but he knew what he had to do. That life wasn't for him, not anymore.

"Jake…?" The tom heard a soft mew from behind him and whirled around with hackles raised. Standing in the forest behind him was a stunning young she-cat. Her light brown pelt shone silver in the moonlight, and her white paws were stained with mud. Jake studied her for a second, and noticing her kitty-pet collar, he sheathed his claws. Her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds, and mesmerized him.

"Do I know you…?" He asked politely, taking a cautious step forward. Jake could scent milk. This she-cat at recently kitted, and the kits were close by. A cold rush of air blew towards him, and he could make out, unmistakably, the six kits. Four males and two females.

The she-cat's eyes grew wide and sad, and then, blinking back tears, she turned her head away. "I wouldn't expect you to remember me…" She meowed. The sad look on her face nearly broke Jake's heart. Who was this cat? Another breeze carried her scent to him. Then he knew.

"Nutmeg! No, I do remember you," He purred as he proceeded forward to nuzzle her, "I just haven't seen you for some time!" Before his muzzle could touch her cheek, she hissed and pulled away. The new mother scoffed at him and glared with angry eyes.

"You left me," She growled, "And now I have your kits."

_What!_ Jake couldn't help but think to himself. Jake had made a mate out of Nutmeg only moons ago, and here she is, standing in front of him with her beauty, telling him that he has more kits. After he left Nutmeg, he found another mate in quite a few other she-cats. He had watched all his other kit's grow from afar, never really seeing them again after their kitting, though he did stalk them from the shadows of the trees just to see how they were holding up.

Interrupting his silent mulling, a tiny ginger tom-kit came bundling out of the shadows in a tussle of fur and tiny claws with his brother. The other kit was a white tom with black spots here and there.

"Rusty, Barley, you two stop!" Nutmeg urged as the larger of the two, the black and white one, sat up and gazed at Jake. His eyes were silver with a hint of orange, and they shone curiously. The ginger tom, who Jake was assuming was Rusty, looked from Nutmeg to Jake, and back again. He was confused as to who this strange cat was, and why the two looked so much alike eachother.

Nutmeg's eyes softened as she looked behind her. "It's ok, kits," She purred lovingly, "Come out and meet your father."

Then he saw them. The two she-cats were the first to emerge. One a light orange tabby, and the other a light brown and white tabby, like her mother. The two other tom-kits trotted out afterward. They were both dark grey colors, and quite burly for kits their age.

"Jake, I'd like you to meet your kittens," Nutmeg said, lining them up. She gestured to the she-kits first. "This is Violet," She purred, twitching her tail to the light orange tabby, "And this is Princess." She gestured to the other she-kit. Then she moved to the twin toms. "And this," She said, licking the tops of their heads, "Is Jumper and Hoot."

Jumper snarled at his father. He was a bit larger then Hoot, and his fur was much shaggier. Hoot just glowered at Jake before stalking back behind his mother. Barley, the little black and white tom, walked forward and studied Jake.

"So you're our father?" He said in a high pitched mew. Jake felt his chest warm with pride. He nodded with a smile on his face, then turned his head back to Nutmeg.

"Darling, what are you going to do with this lot?" He asked in a hushed voice. Though he knew Nutmeg lived with loving Twolegs, he also knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her kits forever. Nutmeg shooed Barley, Violet, Rusty and Princess behind her to play in the hallowed out tree trunk that they had been hiding in.

"I don't know…" She began softly, scuffling her paws on the damp ground. Nutmeg had already temporarily left her Twoleg nest, only coming in when it rains. She had probably had her kits out in the forest, but even Jake knew that she wouldn't be able to care for them all out in the wild. And it wasn't her wish to return to her twolegs any time soon. Like with Jake, the forest beckoned to her. And Jake figured Nutmeg wouldn't want to let go of her kits. Because he knew her.

"I have to return home…" She sighed, nuzzling the tom. They sat silently together for a few moments, nothing but the sound of mewling kits surrounding them. And then, without another word, Nutmeg turned, and went to be with her kits in the tree, leaving her former mate in the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Meet Scourge

Chapter 2

The scent of blood and death filled the nostrils of the young she-cat. This was not the home she once knew. Everything had changed. Her kit's, only five moons old, followed her around the twoleg dump. "Mom, I'm cold!" The youngest one mewled sadly, his tail drooping and his head hanging low.

"Don't complain, Rusty!" His brother pushed into him with such a force, it knocked him off of his paws. "We're ALL cold." The black and white tom kit broke into a trot to catch up to his mother, leaving Rusty splashing in a grimy puddle on the side of a Thunderpath.

"Mother!" He cried, struggling to stand up. The ginger pelt of his was covered in dirt and leaves by the time his mother was able to make her way over to him and pull him out by the nape of his neck.

"Barley, stop it!" the queen huffed after licking Rusty clean. The other four of her kits sat by the metal twig fence obediently, while Barley lay his ears flat on his head and whined. "I'm sorry Mom, but he's complaining." The queen hoisted her ginger kit onto her back and began to walk forward again.

"So are you." Sighing, the other five kit's followed her on her tail. Their mewling and crying had gotten quite a few of the neighborhood cats to give them dirty glances.

The queen's kits had grown up with these nasty cats. She had given birth to them in this general area. They all knew her, they all knew them. Not that they liked them, mind you. In fact, no one seemed to like anyone. The street cats lived by one rule, and one rule only: "Every cat for themselves."

One cat in particular seemed to lead these cats, though. His name was Scourge. Or at least, that's what the street cats called him. He was known to wear a collar around his neck, showing he once belonged to Twolegs, but the collar was also laced with a dog tooth.

The queen was not fond of this cat. She tried to stay away from him as much as possible, though he wasn't much younger than her own kits! He was still a kit himself, and yet the cats in the area treated him like a king.

As the light brown tabby she-cat turned into an alleyway, she noticed her things had been moved around. This is where she had been living, with her kits, since they were born. She had taken them to the twoleg nest where she once lived, because Violet, the small orange and white tabby, was sick. That had been the only time they lived in a nest.

This was their home. If that's even what you would call it.

The boxes and wood had been thrown around, their food stash raided, and the twoleg pillows it had taken the queen weeks to find were torn to shreds.

"Mother who did this!" Cried Rusty, taking a step forward, only to be pulled back by the swift movement of his mother's tail.

"Your kit needs to mind his manners." A low hiss broke through the shadows, and the queen didn't dare turn around. Her kit's knew better then to look, also. So the family stood still, barely breathing, as the small black and white tom circled around them, growling.

"Who are you, and why don't you have a collar on?" His icy gaze matched his voice, so sharp and menacing it could cut the bark on an elder tree.

The queen didn't answer, she just held her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut, as if that would save her from his wrath. Her kits pressed closer to her flank, all as silent as they could be, fear scent emanating off of their thick kit pelts.

"You're Jake's kits, aren't you…" Was all he could say when he got a good look at the ginger kit's. They looked just like their father.

The tom sat to lick his paw, still glaring at the queen and her children. He was no bigger then Barley, and looked even smaller because his fur was no where near as thick. This was the leader. This was the cat that had ruined many lives. And he was barely 4 moons old…

"Please… Scourge." The queen shook as she began to speak, "Leave them alone. What do you want?"

Wrong answer.

Paw hit muzzle, and the queen was knocked off her paws by one surprisingly powerful kit.

"No one speaks to me like that!" He yowled, leaping on top of her and biting at her ear. The kits watched on in horror. The two biggest, grey twins, Jumper and Hoot, huddled close to each other, staring in awe. The two she-kits, a light brown one called Princess, and Violet, called to their mother, but were too afraid to take a flying leap onto the younger kit.

Barley's head was buried under his paws, too afraid to watch.

But Rusty, not willing to see his mother die in front of him, squealed with rage and attacked Scourge.

His tiny claws dug into a jet black pelt, his teeth met the soft skin of Scourge's ear, and his tail lashed with anger and hatred.

Scourge tried to shake the ginger kit off, but he was hooked on too deep into Scourge's pelt. Blood was gushing from his ear where Rusty had nipped him, and as Rusty's hind legs raked at Scourge, tufts of black fur went flying.

"You stupid kit!" Scourge screamed as he jumped off of Nutmeg and fell backwards, landing on Rusty. Rusty's cry filled his sibling's ears, but they did not move. Nutmeg could only sit and watch as she regained her strength.

The weight of the somewhat larger tom was crushing Rusty more then he could take. His breathing was shallow and he tried to speak, but nothing but gurgled mumbles came from his tiny mouth.

"Rusty!"


	3. Chapter 3: Twolegs

Chapter 3

"Rusty!"

His mother's desperate mew was the last thing he heard before he blacked out on the cold stone of the alleyway.

Green eyes blinked opened slowly, and a foggy headed kit stirred awake. He wasn't in the alley, although that's the last place he remembered being. "Momma…?" He called, his voice shaking with fear.

He was in a nice twoleg nest, a warm fire crackling in front of him. He was wrapped in a soft, colorful pelt, and he was terrified.

His hackles were raised as he jumped up, his eyes now wide open with shock. He cried for his mother again, to no avail. Spinning in a fast circle, he surveyed his surroundings for any sign of his mother or his siblings, but he was stopped by a young Twoleg kit. She cooed and coddled him while he kicked with his hind paws in an attempt to wriggle out of her grasp. _Where's Nutmeg?_

His yowls filled the air once more as he tried to get away from his capturer. She only held him tighter and kissed his forehead affectionately. Rusty had had enough.

"Get OFF me!" The desperate orange kitten finally managed to wriggle away, and with his tail drooping and paws heavy, he padded around the twoleg's nest, knowing he wouldn't find his mother around.

His mind was still muddled from the kicking around, his heart still beating a mile a minute. The colors of the twoleg nest all swirled together to be one giant blob in the kits head. There was nothing here for him, not even his own flesh and blood. The feeling he had in his chest was unbearable. Tears welled in his green eyes, but not a noise was heard from him. He just continued to sit, and cry. He cried for his lost mother, hurt somewhere. He cried for his sisters, and his brothers, wandering alone out on the streets, getting ambushed for food by the other hungry rouges. He cried for the life he would never get to live, for the life he was so blatantly taken from. He knew he would never see his family again. The young tom had never felt so empty. His heart was now a gaping, black hole, with nothing left…

* * *

><p>"Rusty!"<p>

The form of a shaking queen could be seen in the shadows of a dirty sewer. The grime and filth caked her coat like another pelt, and four tiny shapes quivered at her belly. Her brown fur smelled of rain and sadness, the tears she had cried in the past three nights stained the fur on her face.

One of the dark gray kits let out a scared mewl as he struggled to get closer to his mother and his siblings. The queen wrapped her tail protectively over him and her other children. Previously, there had been two others in their family. But three very sad days ago, the queen had to give them up for their initial protection.

_Three Days Ago…_

_As Scourge fell back on the small ginger tom, Nutmeg's eyes widened. Her kit was trapped, and she knew Scourge would kill him. He would never let him live. But Nutmeg was still weak from Scourge's attack on her, and her limbs wouldn't move, no matter how hard she willed them to. _

_A squeal came from Princess, one of Rusty's sisters. She had somehow gained the courage to launch herself onto Scourge's belly, tearing at the soft flesh that was exposed to her tiny claws. He spat and hissed at the kit, and flung her off. Rusty lay still on the pavement, not a movement from even his whiskers._

_Nutmeg whisked over to him, nuzzling him a few times before she looked back over to Princess and Scourge. The black tom was growling at her, but his breathing was labored. Princess was in a corner with her tail puffed up in defense. _

"_Don't lay a claw on her, Scourge!" Motherly instincts fired up in Nutmeg's chest and she swiped at Scourge, scarring his face. He spat with such fury as he bowled her over._

"_Get these two useless balls of fur out of my territory!" His voice rang through the alleyway, and Nutmeg shrunk back, but anger still welled in her throat. Once the tom let up on the brown tabby, she backed up toward her kits. Grabbing Rusty by the scruff, she wrapped her tail over Princess and shepherded her other kits away._

_Later that night, Nutmeg sat outside of her old Twoleg nest. Her heart ached with old memories of when she was her kit's age, and of when she first met Jake. As sadness threatened to overcome her, she shook her head to clear her mind._

"_Come, my kits." She said, swallowing any regrets she had at the moment. Rusty still hung limp in her mouth, swinging a bit as she padded quickly and quietly to the nest doorstep._

_Sitting the small ginger kit down, Nutmeg began to cry silent tears. Her other kits were mewling questions to her from behind._

"_But momma, why are you leaving him here?"_

"_He didn't do anything wrong!"_

"_What if they hurt him?"_

_Nutmeg could only lick her sons head one last time, and whisper into his ears, "I love you Rusty. You will be great one day." She proceeded to yowl and yowl until she could hear twolegs inside rustling around. They would take care of him, she knew._

_Whisking her other kittens away quickly, she turned her back on her youngest son…_

"_Princess, will you be brave for momma?" She asked the she-kit as they arrived at another twoleg nest. Nutmeg and the kits had stayed here before one night when it was sleeting out, and she knew her other kit would be safe here._

"_Momma, why are you doing this? Don't you love me?" Princess was hysteric, crying, mewling, wishing her mother didn't have to let her go. Hurt clouded Nutmeg's eyes as she nodded._

"_Oh my love, I do love you. I love you so much." She flattened the fur on Princesses head with her tongue, and nudged her toward the door._

"_Your brother will only be a few nests away." the queen's voice cracked as she tried not to cry. She had to be strong for her kits!_

"_I love you Princess. These nice twolegs will take good care of you. I love you." Turning around, Nutmeg flicked her tail to signal Hoot, Jumper, Violet and Barley to follow her. The kits kept walking as Nutmeg looked back at the twoleg place. She couldn't see either of her kit's at this point, but StarClan knows she was thinking about them._

_The torn apart family walked for a long while, until the sun began to show upon the horizon. The kits, all weary, settled down with Nutmeg in their alleyway._

"_Sleep well my kits…" Nutmeg said quietly, as her eyes began to sink shut._

_The next two days were torture. Scourge continued to harass the five cats, drawing them toward the outskirts of his territory. They had made a home out of the sewers. They slept and ate like rats. Scourge wanted the other four kits for BloodClan, and Nutmeg knew she wouldn't have much time with them…_


	4. Chapter 4: Jake's Last Stand

Chapter 4

_That fleabag!_ The black and white tom spat as he swiped at the ground. He kicked up dirt as he walked, claws unsheathed. His eyes glittered with anger, and envy. _He had more kits!_ Scourge's mind flashed back to Rusty and Violet, the two of Nutmeg's kits that looked most like their father.

Like his father.

Anger surged through him again, and he let out a frustrated yowl as he leaped onto a trash bin. This was his land. From the edge of the woods to the edge of the Twoleg place, this was his. All his. All the cats here lived under his rule. The dogs here feared him, and the Twolegs here knew not to screw with BloodClan.

"Scourge!" Two cat's came scrambling up to where Scourge was posted in his Alley like a king. One, a black and white tom, reached him first. His collar was identical to Scourge's, grime covered and punctured with the teeth of dogs and cats alike.

The other was an older she-cat. Her pelt was a pale orange, with darker ginger striped running across it. A patch of her once-beautiful fur was shredded from between her shoulder's, revealing pink skin. But unlike Scourge's first Lieutenant, she didn't possess the tooth-studded collar around her neck.

"What is it, Bone?" Scourge addressed the large tomcat that sat with a scowl below him.

Bone snarled and flicked his tail in annoyance. Scourge never spoke to him as an equal. Though Bone was technically much older than Scourge, Scourge _was_ the self appointed leader of this place. _Then again, no one _else _really made him leader…_ Bone flicked his ear, pushing those thoughts to the side. Although he didn't enjoy Scourge, the kit scared away a dog that was terrorizing the cats when he first ended up in the Twolegplace.

"There's a new cat in the area." Bone reported to his leader. Brick's eyes darted around the alley, as if she was scared some-cat was going to jump out at her. Of course, it wasn't hard to be on edge when speaking to Scourge. You couldn't put anything past him.

"Oh? Where?" The small black cat leaped down at once from his tower between Bone and Brick, flicking the orange she-cat on the nose harshly. "Brick, stop looking around as if a hedgehog is going to come out and ambush you." The mighty growl that came from the tiny kit was astonishing, even for those who have heard it before. Scourge began padding out of the alley past Bone and Brick. The other two cats exchanged glances before trotting over to catch up with their leader.

"Uh… By the Twoleg nests connected to the forest." Bone replied quietly, watching his paws as they walked. Brick strode on Scourge's other side, her tail low and her ears pricked.

These two cats had known Scourge since he was only 2 moons old, right after he left his family and his twolegs. When he first came to the twolegplace, he was a plump, happy kit without a care in the world. Brick and Bone were among the first cats to meet him, asking him to defeat the dog. After that, Scourge rose to power all on his own, collecting the teeth of his dead enemies, and striking them through his collar. It was his signature. Not to mention the disgusting tactic of reinforcing their claws with dog teeth!

Scourge continued to stalk quietly with his two closest enforcers followed close on either side. His tail lashed in anger. All the cats of BloodClan knew that Scourge didn't care for new cats. Of course, he tolerated them if they were willing to kill in cold blood. But any cat who wandered into BloodClan territory without one of Scourge's guards with them was a potential threat to them.

As they neared the edge of the forest, the small tom stopped in his tracks with his ears pricked. He could smell another cat around, but the scent was eerily familiar. It was the scent that lingered on his mother, Quince's, coat when he was younger. The scent that was found in certain places around his old Twoleg nest.

It was Jake.

The orange furred tom was sulking in a tree, oblivious to the three cats that stood below with their dog tooth-enforced claws unsheathed. Bone gave the signal to attack, but Scourge stopped him with the flick of his tail and a ferocious growl.

"Jake." he snarled, loud enough to get his father's attention. Jake's tail flicked and his ears twitched, but his head did not turn his head to face his youngest son. It was quite obvious that he had heard Scourge's voice, and he knew who it was, but he continued to wash his paws.

"Hello, son." He said after a while of the BloodClan cats staring. The growling and spitting Brick and Bone silenced, and both gave Scourge a wide-eyed glance, before turning their eyes to Jake again.

Jake nimbly leaped from his perch on the branch to a white fence, and strode across it with dignity. He dropped down with a thud in front of his son and the two other cats. Green eyes met blue, and the gaze was held in silence for a minute.

"If it isn't my _father_."

In a flurry of slashing claws and gnashing teeth, Scourge attacked his father, bowling him over and tearing the fur off of his flank. There were patches of ginger fur missing from Jake, stuck under the dog tooth claws on Scourge.

"Hey, _Daddy Dearest, _how does _this_ feel?"

Blood gurgled in Jake's mouth just as Scourge sank his teeth into his father's neck. Jowls clamped on, Scourge dragged the barely alive tom backwards, staining the ground with drops of Jake's blood and fur.

Bone and Brick stayed back, witnessing the murder of Jake, father of the infamous Scourge of BloodClan.

"Tiny, my s-son… I l-love you." Jake managed to spit out before Scourge let tightened his grip on his neck. There was a disgusting _snap_, and Jake's eyes went blank.

"I'm Scourge." The victorious tomcat said, staring down at his father's dead body without any remorse in his voice, or in his eyes.

"I am _Scourge_. And I am the _leader_ of BloodClan."


End file.
